Maya Lin Biographical Research

● Full​ ​Name​: Maya Ying Lin

● Lifespan​: October 5, 1959 - present (60 years)

● Early Family Background and Created Family Structure:

○ Born in Athens, Ohio

○ Parents are immigrants from China.

■ They went through difficult times coming to this country.

○ Both parents worked at Ohio University, her father(Henry) was the dean of the art

school and her mother(Julia) was a literature professor and poet.

○ Married to Daniel Wolf, New York photography dealer.

○ Lin and Daniel Wolf have t​wo daughters, India and Rachel

○ Lin lives in New York and Colorado

● Education:

○ 1977- Graduated from Athens High School, The Plains, Ohio

○ 1981 - Bachelor of Arts, Yale University

○ 1986 - Masters of Architecture, Yale University

○ 1987 - ​Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Yale University

○ Lin has also received Honorary Doctorates from ​Harvard University​, ​Williams

College​, and ​Smith College

● ​Personality Characteristics and Areas of Aptitude, Talent and Interest:

○ Her work has been influenced by wooded hills where she played as a child
 ○ She also finds artististic inspiration from cultural places, including Japanese

gardens, Hopewell Indian earthen mounds, and works by American earthworks

artists of the 1960s and 1970s

○ Lin also incorporates time into many of her works

○ With her interest in the environment, Lin builds her projects to have a minimal

effect on the environment and she uses recycled and sustainable materials.

● Major Career/ Professional Events and Accomplishments:

○ Designing Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC

○ Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama

○ 1992-1993- artist-in-residence at Ohio State University

○ Published book called ​Boundaries

○ 2005, got into the National Women's Hall of Fame

● Personal Life Themes and Beliefs:

○ Feels her art/architectural projects are “a place for individuals within a landscape“

○ Lin describes how interaction with people completes her projects - "I think

psychologically all these pieces are requesting very quietly that you really

complete the piece. The piece begins as something for me, but it ends only when a

visitor has interacted​ with it. It is not finished as a finite object; it requires an act

of participation."

○ As an environmentalist, Lin is a member of the board of trustees of the ​Natural

Resources Defense Council​, an international environmental advocacy group.

● Selected Quotations (2):

 ○ “To fly we have to have resistance”

○ “Nothing is ever guaranteed, and all that came before doesn’t predicate what you

might do next”

○ “For the most part things never get built the way they were drawn”

● Awards and Recognition:

○ Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded in 2016

○ National Medal of Arts awarded in 2009

○ Oscar for best documentary in 1994

○ AIA Twenty-five Year Award in 2007

○ In 2000, she was awarded the Golden Plate Award Academy of Achievement

● Lasting Impact and Contributions:

○ Designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC

○ Pushes the boundaries on what a memorial can be.

○ Her final work being designed is called What is Missing? Lin designed it to raise

awareness about climate change and the loss of natural habitats by using many

mediums, including sound, media, science, temporary installations of art, and a

web-based project.